If you’ve ever had the pleasure of sitting in front of a fireplace, you know how good it makes you feel. We are instinctively drawn to gather around fireplaces, and feel comforted by their visual and physical warmth. Whether we’re on a beach on a hot Summer night, or in our living room on a cold Winter day, we love to look into the fire, to smell the scent of woodsmoke, and to hear the sizzle and pop of the logs. There is now scientific evidence of the health benefits of fireplaces, thanks to research recently undertaken at 2 different universities. We also know that the research was conducted with electric fireplaces, and that the results don’t rely on the source of the flames. So, we can all experience the health benefits of electric fireplaces.
The Health Benefits of Electric Fireplaces – Relaxation
At the University of Alabama, Napoleon established an endowment to further the school’s studies into the effects of fireplaces on relaxation. The fireside relaxation response was originally studied at the University in 2014, so the new study was a follow-up to that. Researchers wanted to test the self-soothing response to fire. Participants were put in a room with an electric fireplace, and their blood pressure was recorded under different conditions, for example a fire with and without sound. This latest study found that 15 minutes in front of a fireplace can actually lower blood pressure and decrease heart rate. That leads to the following health benefits:
The Health Benefits of Electric Fireplaces – Stimulation
At the University of Illinois, Napoleon established an endowment to study the health benefits of fireplaces on cognitive well-being. This was part of a larger field of study on how we support our own well-being and health as we age. Participants were brought into a room with an electric fireplace, and the fireplace was turned on and off to measure how the environment affected the participant’s ability to play a game. The study revealed that in front of a fire, overall cognitive performance improved by 12 percent, and adaptivity to enrichment-seeking activities (e.g. playing a game) increased. In turn, that leads to the following health benefits:
In addition to the proven health benefits of electric fireplaces noted above, there are further health benefits that arise from the use of electric fireplaces over other types of fireplaces.
Health Benefits of Electric Fireplaces – No Risk of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Electric fireplaces have no combustion, and therefore produce no off-gassing of any kind. By comparison, a gas fireplace is burning a fossil fuel, which produces carbon monoxide. If a malfunction occurs, that carbon monoxide may be released into your home. This can’t happen with an electric fireplace, because there is no burning of any kind. The flames are an illusion created with LED lighting.
Health Benefits of Electric Fireplaces – No Risk of Burns
Because the flames on an electric fireplace are not the result of combustion, they are not a source of heat. The heat on an electric fireplace comes from a separate element, and does not affect the temperature of the front glass. As a result, there is no risk of being burned by touching that glass. The flames in a gas fireplace are the source of heat, and therefore make the front glass on the fireplace hot enough to burn skin on contact. Of course, a wood-burning fireplace has live flame that needs to be closely controlled and monitored to avoid burns.
Health Benefits of Electric Fireplaces – Helping the Environment
Looking at the big picture, the health of the entire planet and everyone on it will benefit from reduced carbon emissions. In order to slow climate change, scientists agree that we must reduce carbon emissions, which are created with the burning of fossil fuels. Because electric fireplaces don’t burn fossil fuels, they are one way that we can all fight climate change and still enjoy the personal health benefits of a fireplace.
Stylish Fireplaces knows that adding a fireplace to your home can be challenging. With an electric fireplace and their NFI Certified Hearth Design Specialists, it’s easy to create a space you’ll love to share with family and friends. Check out all the options and connect with their experts for help to find the perfect electric fireplace for you. You’ll live stylishly ever after.